Faith Baker, Associate Director

Faith A. Baker serves as the Associate Director of the SMART Office for the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs. Ms. Baker's responsibilities include assisting the Director and staff in providing management and oversight of SMART Office grant programs, including the Adam Walsh Act Implementation Grant Program pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA), the Comprehensive Approaches to Sex Offender Management (CASOM) Grant Program, and the Dru Sjodin National Sex Offender Public Website.

Prior to joining the SMART Office, Ms. Baker served as the Associate Director at the Office of Justice Programs, Community Capacity Development Office (CCDO), where she worked to implement the Weed and Seed Initiative. Ms. Baker has served CCDO in a variety of capacities, starting as a Grants Program Specialist in 1997. She later became Special Assistant to the Director for Grants Management in 2004, before assuming the role as Associate Director in 2007. For more than a decade, Ms. Baker has provided management and oversight of more than 300 Weed and Seed Communities. She has coordinated national and local partnerships with police departments, community groups and service providers under the Weed and Seed Initiative. Her strong advocacy for building law enforcement relations with the community has given her a comprehensive understanding of public safety policy disciplines as they relate to law enforcement and community policing program requirements.

Prior to embarking on her professional Federal career at the Department of Justice, Ms. Baker worked and interned at the Trudie Wallace Halfway House for Women in Washington, D.C., where she provided oversight to nearly twenty-five incarcerated women. While pursuing her Bachelor's degree, Ms. Baker also worked at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Human Resources Office, where she received numerous Unsung Hero and commendation awards.

Ms. Baker received her B.A. in Criminal Justice from Howard University, and a Masters of Public Administration from Southeastern University in Washington, D.C.